Exposure Assessment of Campylobacter Infections in Rural Ethiopia (EXCAM)

Song Liang of Public Land Grant University in the U.S. will study how children in low- and middle-income settings become infected with the zoonotic pathogen Campylobacter, which causes potentially lethal diarrhea, in order to develop more effective interventions. Using a cohort of children aged 0 to 3 months from a rural setting in Ethiopia, they will apply behavioral study methodology to quantify their behavior at potential infection interfaces where they may ingest Campylobacter, such as while on the floor, close to any chickens, which are known sources of infection, and from their mother/caregiver. These interfaces, along with fecal samples from the children and caregivers, will then be tested for Campylobacter using 16S rRNA sequencing and high-throughput qPCR methods. They will use these data to develop models that explain how children become infected, and use them to identify the most effective and sustainable intervention strategies.